CASTLE resume a bid to win the Brunner Cup for a second time when they meet a familiar foe in the last 16 on Saturday.

The 2017 winners have been paired with Mid-Cheshire Bowling Association Premier Division rivals Frodsham Red Lion after brushing aside Hazel Pear in the first round.

They will be greeted by opponents at Grange Sports, in Warrington, buoyed by an encouraging start to a new season that has seen them win all but one of their league games.

Meanwhile a win against Crosstown A last Sunday was rewarded with a place in the Littler Cup quarter-finals.

However the Northwich club, stung by an early exit last season, start as favourites to go through.

READ > Wharton Cons use final defeat last year as spur

Comberbach safely negotiated their way past Mobberley Victory Hall in their opening game and will take on Pack Horse from Macclesfield.

They hope to warm up for that encounter by beating lowly Hop Pole A on home turf in a league fixture tomorrow night, Friday.

Rudheath face the most daunting task with Tixall, last year’s winners, blocking their path to the last eight.

However they can draw on fond memories of a remarkable upset when the teams met in 2016.

Coincidentally, the Prenton-based outfit were the holders back then too.

The Middlewich Road side is much-changed from the one that played in that game, and a repeat of that success would perhaps represent an even bigger surprise three years on.

They clash this time at Woodland Hotel in Ellesmere Port.

Fixtures

Cheshire County Bowling Association

Brunner Cup

Saturday, June 1 (from 2pm)

Last 16

Frodsham Red Lion v Castle (at Grange Sports No.1)

Heswall RBL v Houldsworth WMC (at Owley Wood No.1)

Lloyd Hotel v Wharton Cons (at Congleton Cricket Club)

Manor Road v Poynton Sports (at Meadowbank)

Packhorse v Comberbach (at Lloyd Hotel)

Plough TRC v Hoylake Central & Melrose (at Castle No.1)

Rudheath v Tixall (at Woodland Hotel)

Sale Excelsior v LMRCA (at Houldsworth WMC)